presents

The Stonewolf of Black Mountain

Long ago, on the land known as Glavvant, atop a great mountain black as the coal within, there lived a giant named Ozlothrop. Ozlothrop did not like company, and for that reason he found comfort in his solitary home in the mountain.

Each year during summertime the beasts of the land would die in great masses due to the blistering heat from the sun. One Summer they moved South from the plains to escape the heat, and they gathered under the shade of the mountain. Ozlothrop became furious, as he could not slumber while the beasts roamed near his mount.

He mustered up a breath that filled his lungs fully and slowly he conjured clouds that covered the land. The clouds were heavy with the giant’s breath, and as his breath condensed within, it fell upon the beasts. The beasts saw the shade stretched into the plains, and so many of the beasts returned to their homes. The quieting at the foot of the mountain gave the giant great joy, and so he celebrated. The few that remained were quickly dispersed by the thunderous clap of the giant’s hands as he rejoiced in his quiet abode. This continued to happen every Summer, but the giant tolerated that it only occurred once a year.

During Springtime on the Equinox of Ches, a litter of wolves produced a runt named Lerr. Wolves born on the Equinox of Ches were typically the mightiest of the pack since their connection to Deva was the strongest, but Lerr was different. Lerr could not hear for he had been birthed upside down and his ears had been pressed against the womb for too long. By a miracle he was not killed as a pup and grew strong through the summer. His pack hunted by the mountainside when the beasts gathered in its shade during Summer, but Lerr’s howl served no purpose but to scare off their prey. His howl was so loud that it enraged the giant Ozlothrop and he cast down a torrential downpour. The rain gathered in the valley, pooling in depressions and cutting through the forest like a serpent. Lerr saw the destruction he had caused and he climbed the Black Mountain to calm the giant’s anger.

The giant saw the wolf running towards his home and he began to stomp to his feet to shake the beast off of the mountain. Boulders flew from the top of the mountain tumbling down into the turbulent waters. Lerr’s eyes were sharp to make up for his deafness and he dodged the rocks and quickly climbed to the top. Lerr yelled at the giant “Please oh great and mighty Ozlothrop, I beg your forgiveness and pray you end this flood before it kills the beasts below!” The giant could not understand the words of Lerr, and heard nothing but the yelping and the howling of the wolf which enraged him further.

Ozlothrop’s anger was such that the clouds began to turn black. His feet continued to stomp, pulverizing the earth beneath him and sending tremors to the core of the mountain. The mountain could no longer contain all of Ozlothrop’s rage and it split in two, spilling out its hot molten core onto the land below. Lerr leaped from the mountain and slid down its side into the water below. The molten stone poured into the water after him engulfing him as the water quenched the heat of the stone, forming solid stone knots at its end. Lerr tried to free himself but could not and so his flesh was turned to stone.

Lerr the Stonewolf now sits in the valley as a reminder to the beasts of the land to not test the Giant of Black Mountain.